United Nations: Morocco Did Not Break cease-fire in Western Sahara

Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- Only few days following the Secretary‑General of the United Nations receiving a letter from the Polisario Front accusing Morocco of violating the ceasefire in an area of Western Sahara near the Mauritanian border, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said yesterday during a press briefing that the UN mission to Western Sahara, the MINURSO, did investigate the claims, yet the Polisario allegations turned out to be untrue, stressing that after conducting an investigation, the “MINURSO has not observed military presence or equipment in the buffer strip.”

“on 16 and 17 August, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO, deployed ground and air capabilities to investigate allegations of violations in the southwestern part of Western Sahara near Mauritania,” the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General said.

“MINURSO has not observed military presence or equipment in the buffer strip. The Mission observed what were assessed as civilian vehicles moving across the berm but was not able to determine additional information,” the UN official added.

Farhan Haq also stressed that the “MINURSO has been in touch with the Polisario [Front] to share the preliminary findings of its investigation.”